LB 



3475 
H3 



THE NOON HOUR 



AND 



THE NOON LUNCHEON 



FLORENCE M. HALE 




STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

AUGUSTA, MAINE, 

1922 



STATE OF MAINE 



Department of Education 



AUGUSTA 



THE NOON HOUR 



AND THE 



NOON LUNCH 



Prepared by 
Florence M. Hale, State Agent for Rural Education, 

Assisted by 
Bernardine Cooney, State Supervisor Home Economics 

and illustrated by 
Evelyn M. Wilson, Augusta, Maine 



"It has been found perfectly feas.ble to teach pupils the fundamental 
principles of cooking, hygiene, cleanliness and many of the household 
duties, in schools where little or no equipment for practice work is pos- 
sible and where teachers have had no special training along these 
lines." 

— Mary J. Lincoln. 



LIBRARY OJF.CpNGKFSS ' 

RECE'vd? 

OOCUMCNTo *. 






INTRODUCTION. 



Augustus O. Thomas, State Supt. of- Public Schools. 

Most of us remember our school days long agone; the long 
walk through chill wind, snow, slush, mud and sometimes over 
frozen roads. When school was reached our lunch was in cold 
storage. Sometimes it was placed in unheated hallways where it 
remained frozen until thawed by eating. Many of us survived, 
and some think that because of this our children will survive 
such things also. 

The writer recalls his early experience as a boy pioneer in 
a country of magnificent distances and discouraging hardships, 
where his parents were unable to supply the dainties of any kind 
for his noon repast. Coarse bread and butter, fried mush, some 
cold boiled meat, a piece of homemade cheese, occasionally some 
fruit, seemed very coarse and ungenteel when compared with the 
pie, cake, doughnuts, preserves and confections of the elite so- 
ciety of the neighborhood. He always stole away to some se- 
clusion until the ravenous appetite of the growing boy was allay- 
ed. It never occurred to him that these coarse foods of which 
he was ashamed were storing up energy and strength for later 
life and he was in reality better favored than the rich in this 
respect. 

During the war just past we have learned that there are five 
food groups from which something should be chosen each day. 
They are as follows : 

1. Vegetables or fruit. 

2. Milk, cheese or eggs, meat or beans. 

3. Cereal ; corn, rice, oats, rye or wheat. 

4. Syrup or sugar. 

5. Fat; such as drippings, oil and butter. 

When to a lunch made up of these simple coarse elements, 
which are within the reach of every family, is added a hot soup 
or a steaming hot baked potato there seems to be nothing lack- 
ing. ... * .., , 



In some communities people who are not well-to-do have 
timidity about having their children display their coarse foods 
in such polite society as the school, but if proper care is taken 
to show that the coarse foods which are within the reach of every 
family are best for the basis of the noon meal a democratic 
equality may be established through the school which otherwise 
might not exist. Teachers should take due consideration of the 
inability of some families to provide dainties and should dis- 
courage rich food to the encouragement of the common coarser 
sort. While a child may battle and overcome many disadvantages 
he is better prepared when health safeguards are thrown around 
him. At the present time a large number of our country schools 
provide some warm noon dish. In order to help out this worthy 
enterprise and to promote general knowledge among the people, 
to lay down certain principles for the teacher and to emphasize 
certain necessities I have asked Miss Hale, supervisor of rural 
education, to prepare this bulletin, to make it as sensible and as 
workable as possible and as suggestive as such a bulletin may 
well be. 

Because the writer is interested in the welfare of every child 
and in his physical fitness to cope with the adversities which he 
must meet in life, he would urge that every teacher make pro- 
visions for carrying out the suggestions herein recorded and 
that superintendents everywhere lend not only their sympathy 
but their active participation as well. 

NOON SUPERVISION. ' 

In schools where any considerable number of pupils bring 
their dinners and remain during the noon recess, no hour of 
the day is more important than that period designated on school 
programs as "the noon intermission." Progressive superintend- 
ents are requiring teachers in such schools at least to remain 
during the noon hour and to maintain proper supervision of the 
activities of this period. Children of all ages, associating togeth- 
er in isolated places, with nothnig to employ their time after a 
hastily eaten lunch, are likely to fall into bad habits both morally 
and mentally. It is not enough for the teacher who remains at the 
schoolhouse at noon, in fulfillment of her requirement, to spend 
the time in correcting papers or in completing intricate designs 
of fancy work but she should be both physically and mentally 
alert and know where every pupil is and in what he is engaged 



throughout the entire hour. During good weather, as much 
time as possible — as much, for example, as would be spent were 
it possible for the children to go a reasonable distance to their 
homes for dinner — should be spent out of doors in active games 
and sports. When the weather does not permit of outdoor ac- 
tivities, then games of a nature as active as practicable should 
be organized for indoor recreation. Whatever is planned, how- 
ever, for this period should be such as to afford the child an en- 
tire change both mentally and physically. Recess periods, whether 
during the regular school session or at the noon hour, should 
very rarely, if ever, be used for "make up" work or for any form 
of punishment. 

It would seem, at first thought, that this careful supervision 
of the noon recess might prove a burden to an already hard 
worked teacher. It has been learned from the testimony of the 
teachers themselves that in the long run such supervision is not 
a burden but is rather of such value in the organization and 
carrying out of the school program and in securing community 
interest and co-operation that it has paid for the extra time and 
thought involved. Some of the benefits which will appeal to 
teachers are as follows : 

1. Discipline of the afternoon session is much easier where 
pupils have not been allowed to get into a state of noisy 
disorder at noon. 

2. At the beginning of the afternoon session, the school- 
room will be in an orderly condition, free from crumbs, 
scattered bits of food, a dirty floor and ruined board work. 

3. The teacher is freed from the difficult task of determin- 
ing who is responsible for damages to schoolhouse and fur- 
niture and for the defacement of outbuildings — things, 
which are sure to occur during the unsupervised noon hour. 
In most schools, the worry and hard feelings occasioned 
by these difficulties entail greater hardship for the teacher 
than will the amount of time and effort consumed by the 
proper supervision of the hour. 

THE NOON LUNCH. 
Care of Lunch Receptacles. 

Not only is it necessary that the noon hour activities be su- 
pervised by the teacher but it is equally desirable that considera- 



tion be given to the noon lunch itself. First of all, proper 
attention should be given to the care of the lunch brought from 
home in "dinner pails" or boxes. These receptacles should not 
be left in cold halls nor yet placed in too close proximity to the 
stove, especially where the old "box" stove is still in use. Nor 
should these dinner pails be left scattered about the room, in vari- 
ous places, on the floor. If possible, shelves should be arranged 
at a place in the room where an even temperature can be main- 
tained. Each child should have a certain place for his lunch box 
or pail and he should put it there each day as regularly as he 
hangs his hat on his own individual hook in the coat-room. The 
habit of eating between meals or lunching intermittently from 
the dinner pail until little but unsavory fragments remain for the 
real dinner should be discouraged. In cases where the younger 
pupils leave home very early in the morning and are perhaps 
really hungry by recess time, it is well for the teacher to advise 
with the parents and see if it cannot be arranged that the sand- 
wich or fruit which may well serve as a lunch at recess for the 
little child be so placed in the dinner box that it can be taken 
out without disturbing the rest of the lunch. 

WHY SERVE A HOT DISH? 

In the most up-to-date rural schools, the custom already pre- 
vails of serving at least one hot dish to supplement the food 
brought from home. Attention is also given to the proper ar- 
rangement and serving of the entire lunch. Here, again, it 
might seem that still another burden is added to the teacher's 
life. However, it has been conclusively proven that, like the gen- 
eral noon supervision described herein, the benefits to the teacher 
outweigh the effort involved. Pupils who have had a warm, 
appetizing lunch are both mentally and physically in a condition 
to do much better school work in the afternoon than are those 
who have eaten a cold, soggy dinner hastily, amid unpalatable 
surroundings. Fewer "make-up" pupils after school, fewer low 
marks in afternoon subjects and fewer controversies with both 
children and parents have been reported as benefits derived 
from the proper noon lunch arrangement. It is usually impracti- 
cal and undesirable to attempt to supply a whole dinner but con- 
ditions are met satisfactorily if one hot dish is served each day, 
provided care be taken to furnish enough variety to tempt the 
appetites of both teacher and pupils. 



THE HOME LUNCH BOX. 

Where parents' meetings are held or where the teacher in 
some other way can get in touch with the mothers, it may be 
desirable to confer regarding the putting up of the home lunch 
and the material which it may well contain. The lunch box it- 
self should be kept scrupulously clean. If of tin, it should be 
scalded and aired after using ; if of leather, it should receive fre- 
quent airings and when a pasteboard box is used, a fresh box 
should be frequently supplied. Waxed paper is inexpensive. If 
each sandwich, piece of ginger-bread, or stuffed egg is wrapped 
in waxed paper, such food will keep in good condition much 
longer than when not so wrapped. Small screw-top covered jars 
or covered jelly glasses will keep the salad, preserves and the 
like in appetizing condition. Paper napkins can be bought at a 
low price in large quantities and one or two used in the lunch bas- 
ket will add to its daintiness. Thermos bottles are of great value, 
especially where the hot dish is not served regularly, as cocoa 
and soups may be kept as hot as when first made, or milk and 
spring water as cold as when taken from the refrigerator. The 
State Course of Study suggests the following as desirable com- 
binations for well balanced luncheons for the home dinner bas- 
ket. 

No. 1 

Plain bread and butter sandwiches 

Stuffed egg 

Fruit jelly Plain cookies 

No. 2 

Chopped meat sandwiches 

(Meat mixed with salad dressing) 

Olives 

Apples 

No. 3 

Peanut butter sandwiches 

Lemon jelly Cream hermits 

No. 4 

Cottage cheese and date sandwiches 

Sponge cake Baked apple 



No. 5 
Brown bread sandwiches 
(Cottage cheese and olive filling) 
^ Ginger snaps or plain cookies 
Fresh fruit 
No. 6 
Ham or chicken sandwiches 
Pickles Boiled egg 

Cake or cookies 
No. 7 
Plain bread and butter sandwiches 
Cup custard 
Gingerbread 
Nuts 
These are merely suggestive and may be extended and varied 
to any extent. To the above should be added a hot portion. If 
each child brings a potato nicely cleaned, at some time during 
the morning, if the stove is suitable, all the potatoes may be plac- 
ed in the coals of the grate and baked. At noon they may be 
brought out piping hot. 

PREPARATION FOR THE LUNCH 
The most important part of the whole noon hour proposition 
is the actual preparation and serving of the hot dish. First, 
however, it is well to make some simple suggestions regarding 

the arrangements 
for eating the din- 
ner. When the size 
of the room permits 
and when a suitable 
table can be obtained, 
the ideal plan is to 
have the children sit 
at a long table, as 
they would sit at 
home during meal 
time, with the teach- 
er occupying the 
James School, Presque Isle place of the mother 

at the table and with 
one or two children, according to the size of the group, waiting 
on the table. These children should be appointed as committees, 




the older children taking turns so that no child will be called 
upon to perform this service longer than a week at a time and 
even a shorter period is desirable where the number of available 
pupils permits. The table should, of course, be set properly like 
a well arranged home ta- 
ble. This gives a chance 
for one of the most val- 
uable features of the 
noon lunch plan — the 
teaching of simple les- 
sons in home economics 
and some of the rudi- 
ments of orderly house- 
keeping to these girls 
whose work in life in 
most instances will be 
that of homemakers. 
When the children thus 
eat together, the teacher 
may, both by precept 
and example, instill ideas 
of good table manners 
and desirable dinner 
conversation. Eating 

slowly and properly, too, 

has a marked effect upon the benefit derived from the din- 
ner. Contrast such conditions as the above with the other 
type of lunch hour in country schools where, sitting on wood 
piles, in entrys or on school steps, the children hastily "bolt" 
their food and consume pie, pickles and candy almost at the same 
"swallow." 




West Gorham Model School 



10 



Where it is not possible to have the long table, the same prin- 
ciples may be observed in the serving of the lunch at the desks. 
In this case, a paper napkin may be spread on the desk and then 

the plate, knife and 
fork, glass, etc., 
placed in the right 
positions upon that, 
with a second napkin 
for ordinary use. A 
better plan, however, 
is to use a piece of 
oilcloth, the size of 
the top of the desk, 
to- cover the desk. 
Most mothers in 
country homes have 
a discarded kitchen 
table cloth of this 
material, too worn around the center for use as a table cover 
but with some good pieces still left in it. Covers for two or 
three desks can often be cut from such pieces and the mother 
usually is glad to contribute the cover for such a purpose. This 
oil cloth can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth and will la^t 
for months. 




James School, Presque Isle 



11 



EQUIPMENT 

When the school is equipped with a flat topped stove, this may 
be used for cooking. Those dishes which require boiling may 
be prepared on top 
of the stove, allow- 
ing sufficient time 
for water to boil by 
this slower method 
of cooking. Pota- 
toes may be baked 
in the ashes. Some 
teachers have re- 
reported that pota- 
toes may also be 
baked by a unique 
method; i. e., put 
a potato on the top 
of the stove and 
cover with an 
empty can and the 
potato will be bake 1 

in nearly as appetizing a manner as if it had been cooked in the 
regular way. 




West Gorham Model School 



12 



Where the flat topped stove is not in use, a two or three burner 
kerosene stove is desirable. If it is possible to obtain an oven, 
a greater variety of menu may be secured by the occasional pre- 
paration of baked 
dishes. Great care 
should be taken to 
teach the children 
to avoid all risk of 
fire. To this end, 
two tin boxes 
should be provided, 
one for good 
matches and one 
for burnt matches, 
and kept in a reg- 
ular place. Each child may bring from home his own knife, 
fork, spoon, cup and saucer and plate. If possible, there should 
be a cupboard in which to keep these articles and supplies for 
the luncheons. A very satisfactory cupboard may be made out 
of a large empty box or packing case which can usually be ob- 
tained free of charge at the village dry goods store. Almost 
any large boy in a country school will be able to put shelves into 
such a box. A curtain of chintz may be made by the girls in 
their sewing class and, strung on wire, may take the place of a 
door to the cupboard and help to keep the dishes free from dust. 
It is still better, however, if a real door can be made. 




13 



»»»>inn>i»»>iiiiiinln ii win ii i ii) in 1 1 1 >u iiji 

[( > »( vf\ ] inn 1 \i ■» h\^)y 



When two good-sized cloak rooms are available, arrangements 
may be made to divide one between girls and boys, using the 
other as a kitchen. 
Some of the new 
school building- 
plans provide for 
an extra room for 
this purpose. 
Where no such 
separate room is 
available, if the 
room is large 
enough, a screen 
may be used in one 
corner of the room 
where food is pre- 
pared and the 
dishes and utensils 
are kept. In al- 
most every school 
it will be possible 
to have at least a 
a row of curtained shelves where this material may be kept. 

The children may bring from home empty coffee cans with 
lids, also a few jelly glasses, with lids, for the general supplies, 
such as cocoa, sugar, flour, cornstarch and seasonings. 

GENERAL EQUIPMENT. 
The following simple list of equipment has been submitted 
by an experienced teacher as being sufficiently complete to en- 
able her to carry on her school lunch successfully : 




1 Good sized tea-kettle 

2 Dish pans 
4 Dish towels 

2 Salt and pepper shakers 
1 Double boiler (large size) 

1 Ladle 

2 Measuring cups 
2 Tea spoons 

2 Table spoons 



1 Knife and fork 
1 Butcher knife 

1 Frying pan 

2 Bowls 

1 Quart dipper 

1 Pail 

1 Pitcher 

1,000 Paper napkins 

1 Galvanized garbage can 



Soap and cleaning powders 



14 



FOOD SUPPLIES. 

In rural communities it is usually possible for children to 
bring certain supplies from home such as milk, vegetables and 
fruits. As soon as the parents become interested in the noon 
lunch plan, it will often happen that appetizing dishes will be 
''sent in" from time to time or parents will offer to assist in some 
practical way. For example, in a certain rural community where 
the children are very fond of baked beans, a neighbor offered 
to bake the beans once a week in her oven. A sufficient 
quantity was baked so that two dinners were provided by reheat- 




Rural School, Fort Fairfield 



ing the beans left from the first meal. In some schools it has 
been found that potatoes are the most easily procured source 
of supply for the noon lunch in that it is almost always possible 
for each child to bring a clean potato from home. It is sur- 
prising how many different ways potatoes can be cooked and 
how very palatable they are when well cooked. 

In most schools it is best to attempt to serve only one hot dish 
to supplement the lunch brought from home. The simplest hot 
dishes to prepare are cocoa, potatoes cooked in various ways 
and simple soups. 



15 

It is necessary that the teacher have a small sum of money 
on hand with which to buy general supplies such as cocoa, sugar, 
flour, seasoning, etc. In some school systems the school depart- 
ment appropriates a small sum for this purpose. In other conv- 
munities it is possible for children to bring pennies from home, 
though this method of obtaining funds must be used with great 
care and not overdone. Perhaps the best way of securing 
such a fund is through school entertainments of various kinds. 
Such entertainments serve a three-fold purpose — of bringing 
home and school closer together, of arousing inquiry and interest 
in the noon lunch propositon and then securing funds for the 
carrying on of the project. Another excellent method is through 
the activities of the School Improvement League which might 
well take for one of its projects the supplying of funds and ar- 
ranging for committees to be responsible for the carrying on of 
the noon lunch. 

GENERAL PLAN OF WORK. 

The menu for the luncheons for the following week should 
be planned each Friday. It is well to have a regular note-book 
for this purpose as it will later prove a valuable reference book 
to show what has been accomplished during the term. A menu 
taken at random from such a note-book reads as follows : 

Monday— Vegetable soup 
Tuesday — Cocoa 
Wednesday — Baked potatoes 
Thursday — Corn chowder 
Friday — Creamed Potatoes. 

All of the work possible in the preparation, serving and the 
cleaning up afterward each day should be done by the pupils with 
the teacher acting as general advisor in all lines. The least desir- 
able plan is for the teacher to undertake the whole or a large part 
of the preparation of the lunch herself for it deprives the 
children of one of the chief benefits of having the lunch and it 
then becomes a real extra burden to the teacher. At first, it may 
seem harder to the teacher to train the pupils in these duties 
than to do it herself, as it often seems to the mother in the home 
who thereby neglects the necessary training of her daughters in 



16 



useful work and gradually assumes more and more all the 
hard tasks of her home. Where only very young children make 
up the school membership, it is of course necessary for the tea- 
cher to do more of the work but even the smallest pupils of 
school age can be trained to set the table, wash and wipe dishes 
and help clean up after the meal. 




Rural School, Fort Fairfield 



In the usual rural school of mixed grades where there are 
a number of older boys and girls, the work may be planned so 
that the older pupils do most of the actual preparation of food 
and cooking whi'e the younger children attend to duties similar 
to those indicated above. The boys usually are interested in 
learning to cook a simple dish as well as the girls, and they should 
care for the fire, bring the water and remove waste. The quick 
and complete disposal of waste teaches a lesson of civic respon- 
sibility. Have each pupil scrape his own plate and other dishes, 
and pile them properly. The teacher may apportion the tasks, 
by the week to such groups of boys and girls' as seem best to her 
according to the conditions of her individual school. One group 
may arrange the menu, see that the necessary materials are at 



17 



hand, prepare and serve the hot dish, while another group 
sets the table, gets the hot water ready for dish washing, washes 
and wipes the dishes and puts them away. Where the numbers 
and ages of pupils permit, it is well to alternate these groups so 
that each may render a variety of service, and learn to work 
expeditiously. 

The daily program of recitations should be so planned that 
the older pupils who do the largest part of the work of the noon 

lunch may have the 
last period of the 
morning free when 
they may pass 
quietly from then- 
seats and begin the 
preparations for 
the dinner hour. It 
may be necessary 
sometimes to do 
some of the work 
of preparation be- 
fore school or at 
recess in the case 
of preparing vege- 
tables, etc., but the 
menu should be 
planned so that no 
group will be obliged to spend several consecutive recesses in 
this manner. 

The work of account keeping may be correlated with the 
arithmetic classes. An account book should be provided and in 
this should be kept a record of all sums received or paid out. 
It may prove helpful also to keep a record of the number of 
pupils served and the approximate cost of each hot dish. 




West Gorham Model School 



18 

LIST OF SUGGESTED HOT DISHES 

Soups — tomato, potato, vegetable, pea, bean 

Potatoes — creamed, baked, boiled, scalloped 

Eggs — boiled, scrambled, omelet, creamed 

Rice pudding 

Creamed corn, peas, salmon, creamed salmon and 

peas 
Apple sauce, baked apples (cook on top of stove 

instead of oven.) 
Creamed carrots 
Greens — dandelion 
Corn meal mush 
Cream of wheat 
Boiled rice . 
Oatmeal 

Buckwheat cakes and maple syrup 
French toast 
Baked Beans 

PRACTICAL RECIPES FOR SCHOOL LUNCH DISHES 

Creamed salmon with or without peas : Make thick white sauce 
in double boiler. Break salmon into rather small pieces and put 
into white sauce. Canned peas added to this is very good, but if 
used, drain off the liquid. 

Rice pudding : Cook rice in double boiler allowing one part 
rice to three parts water. When cooked add sugar to taste. Rais- 
ins may be added, also a beaten egg about ten minutes before 
serving. 

Simple good sauce for pudding : 1 cup of water, 2 or 3 table- 
spoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of butter, 3 tablespoons of sugar. 
Mix flour and sugar together, mix gradually with the water, cook 
in double boiler and stir while cooking, add butter and little nut- 
meg. 

Cornstarch Pudding: 1 pt. milk, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 
1-3 c. sugar, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Heat milk in 
double boiler, mix cornstarch and sugar together, and mix with 
a little cold milk. Stir into hot milk. Add salt and flavoring. 

White sauce for soups : 1 cup milk, 1 tablespoon flour, salt 
and pepper. 



19 

Simple Method : Heat the milk, mix the flour with a little 
cold liquid until smooth, then add slowly to the warm milk, stir- 
ring until thick. 

White sauce for vegetables : 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 cup of 
milk, 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat, pepper and salt. Method same 
as above. 

Creamed Eggs : Bring hard boiled eggs from home or boil 
at school. Make thick white sauce using — 4 tablespoons of flour 
to 1 cup of liquid, 2 tablespoons of butter. Chop whites of eggs 
into 1-4 inch pieces, put into white sauce. Serve on slices of 
bread or toast and put over this the yolk of the egg which has 
been sliced or put through the strainer. 

Baked Apple (Cook on top of stove) : Wash and core apples. 
Put in baking pan. Into the center of the apples put a tablespoon 
of sugar or tablespoon of corn syrup. Put sufficient cold water 
around the apples to come up 1-4 inch in the pan. Place on 
<-op of the stove and cover so the steam will cook the upper part 
of the apples. 

French Toast : 1 cup milk, 3 tablespoons of sugar or 4 table- 
spoons of corn syrup, a little nutmeg if desired, and one egg. Dip 
slices of bread in this mixture and fry in small amount of fat. 
Serve with corn syrup. 

Boiled Beans : Soak beans over night. In the morning drain 
and add fresh water — about one third more water than you have 
beans, add salt and pepper, and slices of pork, or pieces of ham 
or bacon. Should cook about 3 hours, in a double boiler. 

Bean Soup : Make thin white sauce and add the amount of 
beans desired. Strain beans through coarse strainer before add- 
ing to sauce. 

Cream Tomato Soup : Canned tomato soup or stewed toma- 
toes may be used. 1 cup tomatoes, 1-4 teaspoon' soda, 1 tea- 
spoon salt, 1 tablespoon butter. Make thin white sauce. I pint 
of milk for the above amount of tomatoes. Heat the toma- 
toes, add the soda and combine slowly with the white sauce. 

Cream Corn Soup : 1 scant cup of corn to 1 pint white sauce. 
Strain corn and add to white sauce. 

Cream Pea Soup: (Made same as above recipe.) 

Creamed Potatoes: Cut boiled or baked potatoes into small 
pieces and add to either thin or thick sauce. 

Creamed Potato Soup: Strain cooked potato and add to 
white sauce. Season with slice of onion, pepper and salt. 



20 



POTATO SOUP 

3 potatoes 1 1-2 teaspoons salt 

1 large slice of onion 1-4 teaspoon celery 

2 tablespoons flour salt or a tablespoon dried 
2 tablespoons butter celery leaves 
Pepper 1 quart milk 

Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water ( 1 tablespoon to 6 po- 
tatoes) till soft then rub through a sieve quickly. While the 
potatoes are cooking, put the milk, onion and celery leaves, if 
used, into a double boiler, and when the milk is scalded, remove 
the onion and leaves. Melt the butter carefully, add the flour and 
seasoning and cook till frothy, then mix with a little of the hot 
milk, and add to the remainder of the milk in the double boiler. 
Stir constantly till the mixture thickens, then pour slowly onto 
the hot sifted potato. Return to double boiler for a few minutes 
till it gets piping hot, season if necessary, strain, and serve at 
once with crisp crackers. 

DRIED BEAN SOUP 

1 cup dried beans 2 tablespoons flour 

1 large slice onion 1 teaspoon salt 

1 cup cream Pepper 

2 tablespoons butter 

Soak beans over night (lima beans are especially good) in 
plenty of cold water, drain, add a quart and a half of cold water, 
cook slowly till soft, then rub through a sieve. Mix flour and 
seasonings smoothly with the cream, add to the bean pulp, and 
let get very hot. Add the butter, a bit at a time, and stir till well 
mixed with the soup. Serve very hot with crackers. 

CORN CHOWDER 

1 quart sliced potatoes 1 can corn 

1 small onion 1 quart milk 

Small piece fat pork 2 tablespoons butter 
salt and pepper 

Cut pork in small pieces, and try out in frying pan, add onion 
cut in small pieces, and cook till yellow and transparent. Parboil 



21 

the potatoes, drain, add the fat, and enough boiling water to cover 
the potatoes. When the potatoes are soft, add the corn, milk and 
seasonings. Let come to boiling point before serving. 

VEGETABLE STEW 

3-4 cup carrot 1 onion 

1-2 cup celery 3-4 cup turnip 

2 cups potatoes 

Wash, pare and dice all the vegetables, except the celery 
which is cut into small pieces. Cook the carrot, turnip and celery 
in four tablespoons melted butter for 10 minutes, stirring con- 
stantly. Add the potatoes, cook for a few minutes, then after add- 
ing three pints of water, cover and cook for an hour. Add two 
tablespoons butter, seasonings and serve very hot. 

COOKED EGGS 

Have a kettle of boiling water, and carefully put the eggs 
into it. Cover closely, and move the kettle to the back of the 
range where the water will keep hot, but not boil. Let the eggs 
stay in the water, according to the degree of hardness desired — 45 
minutes giving a hard cooked egg, 5 minutes a soft cook, while 
10 minutes gives a firm white with the yolk a trifle soft. Such 
cooking makes eggs more easily digestible, than by the usual boil- 
ing. 

CREAMED EGGS 

Hard cooked eggs, combined with a white sauce, and sreved 
hot, make a good luncheon dish. 

SCALLOPED EGGS 

Hard boiled eggs, quartered and arranged in layers in a bak- 
ing dish, a layer of white sauce and buttered crumbs, and so 
continuing until the dish is full, make an appetizing dish. Be- 
fore serving the eggs, bake about one-half hour. 

OMELET 

Use 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of water, a speck of salt and pepper 
for each person to be served. Beat yolks of eggs, seasonings 



22 

and water till thick and lemon colored. Cut and fold in the stiff- 
ly beaten egg whites. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying- 
pan, pour in the egg mixture, and when a delicate brown under- 
neath, dry off in oven, fold and serve at once. The addition of 
chopped meat, cheese, vegetables, jelly or nuts makes a more 
nourishing omelet. 

CREAMED BEEF 

11-2 tablespoons flour Salt and pepper 

11-2 tablespoons butter 1-4 pound chipped beef 
1 cup milk 

Let the beef stand in hot water for ten minutes. Melt the 
butter, add flour and seasoning, cook till frothy, then cool. Add 
the cold milk gradually, and let the mixture come to a boil, stir- 
ring constantly till thickened. Add the beef cut in fine pieces, and 
when hot serve with 

BAKED POTATOES 

Select potatoes of same size, wash, and bake in a hot oven 
until the contents become soft when pinched. Break the skin a 
little to let the steam escape, then serve immediately. 

CREAMED POTATOES 

Cut white potatoes into 1-2 inch cubes, and cook in boiling 
water until soft. Combine with a white sauce, made by using 
two tablespoons each of butter and flour, 1-4 teaspoon salt, speck 
of pepper, and 1 cup of milk. Use the same method for com- 
bining as in the tomato sauce, substituting milk for the tomato. 

SCALLOPED POTATO 

Wash and pare raw potatoes, cut into thin slices, then soak- 
in cold water for about an hour. Drain and arrange in layers in 
a baking dish, dotting each layer with bits of butter, and sprink- 
ling of salt and pepper, and dredging wth flour. Fill the baking 
dish with hot milk, having it come to the top of the potatoes 
and bake till the potatoes are soft. 



23 



CARROTS AND PEAS 

Wash, scrape and cut carrots into one-half inch blocks. Cook 
in boiling salted water until soft, drain, add 1 drained can of 
peas, combine with a thin white sauce and when hot, serve. In 
making the white sauce, use 2 tablespoons of flour to 1 cup of 
milk. 



COCOA , 

2 cups scalded milk Speck salt 

2 cups boiling water 2 tablespoons cocoa 
1-4 cup sugar 

Mix the dry ingredients, add the water gradually and boil for 
five minutes. Add the milk, beat with an egg beater and serve. 

CHOCOLATE 

3 cups scalded milk Speck salt 
1 cup boiling water 11-2 squares chocolate 
1-4 cup sugar 

Melt the chocolate over hot water, add the water gradually,, 
the salt and sugar, and boil for a few minutes. Combine with 
the hot milk, mill with the beater till frothy, and serve. 

LEMONADE 

1 cup sugar Juice two lemons 

2 cups water 

Boil the sugar and water till a syrup (10-12 minutes), add 
the lemon juice, and cool. Bottle, and keep in a cool place, addng 
some of the syrup, as desired, when making lemonade. This is 
a more economical way of making lemonade than the usual way. 

SALADS 

Any good cook book gives suggestions for salad combinations, 
which are healthful at all times, but are especially appetizing in 
the spring months. 



24 



SUGGESTIONS FOR SECURING HOME CO-OPERA- 
TION. 

The interest of the parents can usually be reached through 
the children. If the teacher explains her plan for the hot lunch 
in a sufficiently enthusiastic and forceful manner, the children 
will be likely to become enthusiastic and will explain the pro- 
position to their parents. In taking up the matter for the first 
time with her school, it is wise for the teacher to describe her 
plans in a positive fashion as though she expected the approval 
of her pupils. This same attitude should be maintained in the 
discussion of the menus for the different weeks' luncheons as too 
much indefinite discussion as to what they do or do not like 
to eat will result with children, as with older people, in a gen- 
eral disagreement. If one or two children do not "like" the dish 
planned by the committee on menus, with the teacher's advice, 
such children should not be compelled or ever urged to eat it. 
but if the article of food seems to be practical and acceptable to 
the majority of the school, it is wise to serve it as planned and 
let the disagreeing child provide his own lunch wholly for that 
day. It would be a welcome result of the school noon lunch idea 
in the minds of many busy, hurried country mothers if through 
its agency children learned, in the language of their grandmo- 
thers, "to eat what is set before them." 

However, in addition to depending upon the children to carry 
home favorable accounts of the noon lunch plan, it is usually 
advisable to get into closer touch with the parents at the very out- 
set. The mothers may be invited to come to the schoolhouse on 
a certain day when the teacher may meet with them in a friend- 
ly way and explain her plan. In order to do this effectively, she 
must have her plan definitely in mind herself even to min- 
ute details and, as in the case of the children the plan should 
be presented in a positive fashion rather than in a manner 
which might open the way to the discussion of too many imagin- 
ary obstacles. If there is a School Improvement League in the 
school, a public meeting of the League is the ideal place for 
presenting the noon lunch plan. Letters from teachers who are 
successfully carrying on the noon lunch may be read aloud at 
such a meeting and a few such letters from parents in such com- 
munities will also help to convince the parents of the practicability 
of the plan. If it is not possible to get the parents together in 



25 



a meeting, the teacher may call upon them in their homes and 
explain her plans. She may send to the homes a letter describing 
her ideas for the noon lunch hour. Neither of these last two 
suggsetions, however, will bring about as good results as the 
meeting at the schoolhouse when all can hear about it at the 
same time. The wise teacher will remember that in the working 
ovit of any new plan there will always seem to be obstacles in 
the way of success, but that nearly always one learns how to 
surmount such obstacles by beginning simply and working on 
courageously day by day. That the noon lunch is being suc- 
cessfully carried on in hundreds of Maine rural schools and in 
the rural schools of every other state in the Union goes to show 
conclusively that it can be done. 

CORRELATION WITH OTHER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES. 

The work in the noon lunch period in rural schools may re- 
ceive credit as work in simple home economics. It may also be 
correlated to advantage with the work of other studies, especi- 
ally mathematics and simple chemistry. Often problems in 
arithmetic, such as those connected With weights and measures, 
are dull and uninteresting because the pupil fails to s§e the use 
of the problems and for lack of concrete illustrations finds it 
hard to understand the meaning of them. When such problems 
are based on their own activities such as estimating supplies for 
the noon lunch, keeping accounts in order that the fund collect- 
ed may be used to advantage and arranging the weekly bill of 
fare so that it may be a well balanced menu, then the pupil can 
,see the practical application in his own life' of the arithmetic 
work he is doing. 

SUPPLEMENT. 

Laying the Table. 

The following suggestions are given with the supposition that 
a regular long table is available. The same general procedure 
may be followed where no table can be used and the desks must 
t)e considered as individual "places." 



26 




The furnishings for each place should be laid about one inch 
from the edge of the table. Leave as large a space between 

places as number 
to be served will 
admit. In the cen- 
tre of each place 
lay the plate inside 
up, unless it is de- 
sired that the teach- 
er or other person 
at the head of the 
table act as host 
and serve individu- 
al portions from a 
large receptacle containing food. In this case, the plates may be 
placed in a pile in front of the person who sits at the head of the 
table. 

The eating utensils should then be placed in the following 
order. At the right of the plate should be placed the knife 
with sharp edge nearest the plate, then comes the spoon with 
the inside of bowl up. If more than one spoon is needed, the 
one to be used first should come at the outside. The ends of the 
handles should be even with the edge of the plate. The tumbler 
should be placed, top up, at the tip of the knife. Place the fork 
at the left of the plate, tines up. Beside the fork comes the 
napkin folded in a square. At the tip of the fork and opposite 
the tumbler on the right should be the butter plate or bread and 
butter plate. When fruit or flowers are used they should be plac- 
ed in the centre of the table and should not be too high. The 
salt and pepper shakers may be placed between two places and 
the relishes such as vinegar, olives or pickles in convenient places, 
not cluttered between the larger dishes. If possible, cups and 
saucers and plates should be heated when hot food is to be served 
upon them. 

No child should be allowed to come to the table without first 
washing face and hands and smoothing the hair. Boys should 
not be allowed to come to the table in their shirt sleeves without 
<oat. 



27 

SUGGESTIONS FOR SERVING 

In serving a plate of soup or meat, go to the right of person 
served and set it on the table directly in front of him. The cup 
of cocoa or other drink should be served at the right. In passing 
vegetables or dishes from which the pupil is to take a portion, 
pass them at the left that the portion may be taken easily with 
the right hand. 

TABLE MANNERS. 

There is no way in which the good breeding of a person 
shows itself more certainly than in his table manners and, of 
course, the opposite is true. Therefore, the noon lunch offers 
the teacher a splendid opportunity to teach her pupils some of the 
fundamental principles of such behavior. The following point? 
may prove suggestive of some of the most common things to 
be observed. 

At the school lunch table either the teacher, or some pupil 
whom she may appoint to take her place, acts as hostess. At 
the table, children should take their seats when the hostess takes 
hers and rise when she rises after the meal is finished. If a 
pupil is obliged to leave the table before the meal is over, he 
should say, "Please excuse me." One should never reach after 
things on a table but should ask some person to pass the desired 
article as, "Please pass the bread." When a dish is offered, the 
pupil should say, "Yes, please," or "No, thanks." In cutting 
meat, it should be remembered that it is very poor form to spread 
the elbows which under all circumstances should be kept near 
the sides. Children should be taught to eat slowly, to chew the 
food thoroughly and without smacking the lips. While it is de- 
sirable that the pupils should be taught the art of table conversa- 
tion, it is well to caution them against talking "with their mouths 
full" as this is one of the surest signs of ill breeding. Children 
should be instructed regarding the kind of subjects that may 
fittingly be discussed at table and those .which are not in good 
taste at such a time. 

A knowledge of the proper use of the knife, fork and spoon 
is essential. The knife is to be used to cut food and to butter 
bread and should never be put into the mouth. The fork should 
be used to carry the food to the mouth and should not be loaded 



28 

with the food. The spoon is of course used to stir tea or coffee 
and for cereals and many kinds of dessert. The spoon should 
not be left in the cup but should be laid in the saucer. It is in- 
teresting to note, and may be of value to children should they 
see older people in their families violating this rule, that years 
ago it was considered good form to leave the spoon in the cup, 
but this rule of etiquette was changed because the spoon upright 
in the cup often led to embarrassing accidents caused by over- 
turning the cup from accidental hitting of the spoon when food is 
being passed or the cup refilled. Soup should be eaten from the 
side of the spoon and children should not draw in the breath or 
make any sound of any kind. When the plate is passed for a 
second helping, the knife and fork should be laid on the plate at 
one side near the edge and this same rule applies if the plate 
is not passed and the child is served at his own place. In butter- 
ing bread, a portion of the piece of bread should be broken off 
and buttered. The whole piece should not be buttered at once. 
The correct use of the napkin should be taught and children 
should never be allowed to use their handkerchiefs in place of it. 
Neither should the child be allowed to eat with his fingers, pick 
his teeth or "lap" food of any sort from a dish or eating utensils. 
The experienced teacher will find many other helpful ways 
of assisting the mothers in their efforts to teach their children 
correct table manners but the foregoing suggestions are given es- 
pecially for the benefit of beginning teachers and through observa- 
tion of some of the most common mistakes of children at the 
table. 



